Improvement in hinges



J. K. GII.FILLAN.

HINGES.

' Patented May 23, 1876.

'NIIED} STATES JAMES K. GILFILLAN, on sYenousn, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T VGILFILLAN, OF SAME PLACE.

PATE1\TT OFFICE IMPROVEMENT IN HIN GES.

Specificatio'n form'ing part of Letters Patent No. '177708, dated May 23, 1876; application filed January 13, 1876.

To all whom muy concern Be itknown that 1, JAMES K. GILFILLAN, of the city of Syracse, cou1ity of Onondaga, and State of New York, have invented new and useful 1mprovements in Hinges, which are fully set forth in the followingspecifica tio, refereuce being had to the accompanying drawings, in which oted at its ends to corresponding sides of each plate; and my invention consists in, first, an improved plate; second, an improved crossbar; third, a combination of two plates as far as improved for adaptati0n to the improved cross-bars, with two of my improved crossbars with suitable connections for strengthening the hinge; and, fourth, in*the i1nion and arrangement of two of my new plates entire with the cross-bars' as impr0ved,'and with suitable connections, having strength additional tothat afforded by the elements of the next above-mentioned part of my inventiou; and, fifth, a combination of two plates, having formed in each'of them the recesses hereinaf ter described, with two cross-bars and suitable connections.

In the drawin gs heref, A represents my improved plate, furnished with holes for screws or other means of attaching the plate to the door or door-casing. D D are knuckles at a distance from opposite ends and on opposite sides of the plate, and having in that end nearer the end of the plate a recess, screwthreaded for the receptioxi'of screw-threaded pintles H 'H. The longer sides of the plate A may have longitudinal bevels C extendingoutward from the front to the rear surface of the plate, and these. bevels may be curved in crosssection. These bevels are not necessaryto the operation of -my hinge, but render the hinge more comp'act, and enable the edges of the plate to rotate closely to the nearly-cylindrieal bosses'D D, when all the parts the order hereinafter to be described. These parts, however, may be united by drivingjoints, or the pintles H H may be formed in ithe 'piece with the knuckles D D, and the pmtle H may be likewise in one piece with the nut I. Tothe well-known cross-bar of this jstyle of hinge I have added at each end the supplementary kuckles D, havihgshbulders, or offsets J J, Which give the cross-bars, when in position on the plate, a longer bearing.on the pintles H H. The knuckles D D are formed at a suitable distance from the end of the plate A to afford room for the shoulders or ofl'sets J J of the supplementary knucklef D to pass alongside of the plate A, where.

they may at times be steadied by the edges.

This construction of the supplemeutary knuckles D, having shoulders .or offsets J J and knuckles D D, strengthens the hinge against all cross or diagonal strains, to which all hinges are subjected, and prevents the hinges'from 'rockin g vertical] y.

At each en'd of the plate A is a 'reces s, E, ,formedtheren, having its bottom and s1des,

respectively, corresponding nearly or quite to the surfaces of the longer and shorter sides of 7 the cross-bars, in order that the cross-bars will readily pass into, rest in, and pass out of these recesses during the operation of the hinge, and that the sides of the bars may have bearings against the bottom and sides of the recesss, for a purpose to be hereinaftr setforth.

When the plate having recesses is used with thewell-known form of cross-barthat is, that form which has no shoulders']the outer ends of the knuckles D D are made flush with the Y inner sides of the recesses E.

The parts are placed in operat1ve position as follows: The pintles H H are screwed firmly into the knuckles D D. The remaining pintle H is as firmly screwed or secured to the nut l, One of the plates A is then lifted A above'the plane in which the other plate A rests,and one cross-bar is slid onto the two parallel pintles H H. The upper plate is then 0 WILLIAM dropped down alongside of the other, when the plates A A will be close together, and adjacent knuckes will overlap each other, and the cross-bar will rest in the recess E. The nuts I I are then screwed onto the pintles H H, and one cross-bar is secured. One end of the other cross-bar is slid onto the remaining pintle H, its free end pointing away from the plate A, and droppod into the adjacent recess by being turned pivotally on the pintle H, and its unfastened end now Opposes that one of the knuckles which has no pintle H. The pintle H is then inserted through the unfastened end of the cross-bar, and screwed into the underlying knuckle. This completes the hinge.

The hinge being set as usual into an excavation of the door of or its casing until the outer surfaces of the wood and of plate A are flush with each other, it will be seen that the o'uter side K of the recess E at the lower end of the plate rests closely against the wood of the door or door-casing, and therefore causes the wood at that point to bear a portion of the strain and weight, which, were there no recess, would be supported entirely by the screws. It must be borne in mind here, that heretofore in this class of hinges the plate has had no recess E, and that anexcavation of the door was necessary away from the end of the plate to receive the cross-bars, which lay between the end of the plate A and the side of the exoavation in the wood. The hinge plate A, the cross-bar being turned out, had no support tor its end, and the strain on the hinge fell entirely on the screws. In this new construction the bottom and sides of the recesses E E aid to support the screws in their resistance against-the weight of the door. The recesses at the upper end also 'aid in this respect by furnishing a close bearin g of the plate against the wood above it, and so resist lateral str-ain. The recesses E E effect another 'sub stantial benefit in this style of hinges. Without the recesses the weight on each plate bears on diagonally-disposed knuckles, and hence the strain is diagonally across the plate. when the recesses E E have been added to the plate, the cross-bars rest more or less in them. They press against the sides of the recesses, and thus a part of the weight and strain is tiansferred from knuckles on opposite sides and at opposite ends of the plate to or near the center of the plate alongside of the recesses. Thus the strain is changed from a diagonal to nearly a vertical direction, and the capacity of the hinge to resist the weight of the door is materially increased. It is obvious that the hinge is operative without the recesses E E, and I may therefore construct the hinge without them, though I prefer the hinge with them.

The main operation of the hinge is as fol lows: Whichever way the door is opened it But' is moving. One of the cross-bars pivots on.

that side, and, being confined at its other end to the plate which is on the door, is swung around with that plate, while the other cross bar not being confined to the swinging side of the swinging plate remains set in the recess of the plate on the casing. On the contrary, the door being reversely opened, the plate attached to it pivots on the edge, which before was the swinging edge of the hinge, and the cross-bar which before swung with the plate, because confined-to the swinging edge, is now left behind in the recess of the stationary' plate, while the other cross-bar which before was left behind is now curved around with the moving plate because confined to its swinging edge. way it swings on a boss and on its diagonally' disposed crossbar, but when the door opens the other way it swings on the other boss and the other crossbar.

What I claim as new, and wish to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A hinge-plate,A, having knuckles D D on its opposite sides, and near to its oppo site ends, and provided with recesses E E, formed therein, one in each end thereof, as and for the purpose described.

- 2. The cross-bar F, having supplementary knuckles D, having shoulders or offsets J J as and for the purpose described.

3. The two plates A A of the same construction, each having the knuckles D D on its opposite sides, and near to its opposite ends, in combination with two cross-bars, F F, having supplementary knuckles D, with shoulders or offsets J J, and with suitable pintles and nuts, as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The two plates A A of the same construction, each having the knuckles D D on its opposite sides, and near to its opposite ends, and having recesses E E formed therein, in combination with cross-bars F F, having supplementary knuckles D, with shoulders or ofi'sets J J, and with suitable pintles and nuts, as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In a two-way hinge, the combination of two hinge-plates, each having a recess formed therein, at each end thereof, as described, with two crossbars, and with suitable pintles and nuts, as and for the purpose set forth.

JAMES K. GILFILLAN. Witnesses:

WILLIAM GILFILLAN, HORAGE H. WALPOLE.

So when the door opens one 

